Garda X accounts display cryptocurrency promotions after apparent takeover
An Garda Síochána’s information and traffic accounts changed appearance and displayed cryptocurrency promotions overnight, according to two reports. The cause has not been confirmed.
An Garda Síochána’s @GardaInfo and @GardaTraffic accounts on X displayed cryptocurrency promotions after apparent takeovers overnight from Wednesday, 14 October, into Thursday, 15 October. The Journal reported hundreds of posts advertising a cryptocurrency wallet application across the two feeds. The accounts serve large audiences: @GardaTraffic has about 600,000 followers, according to the two reports, while Press Association reporting carried by RTÉ put @GardaInfo’s following at almost 300,000.
What appeared on the Garda accounts
The Journal said the promotions began late on Wednesday night and that X users started reporting the apparent change to @GardaInfo shortly after 11 p.m. Posts invited users to claim an “allocation” of XRP, a cryptocurrency, and tagged different X users. The Journal noted that fraudulent cryptocurrency promotions are often used by scammers; the reports do not establish who was behind these posts.
The accounts’ identities also changed. The Journal reported that @GardaInfo’s handle became @XummHelpx, while @GardaTraffic still had its original handle at the time of its report. PA’s report, carried by RTÉ, said the former @GardaInfo account resembled support for a cryptocurrency wallet, although old Garda videos and posts remained visible on it. Both reports placed the accounts in the Netherlands; PA specified Amsterdam as their listed location.
Why the account changes matter
The apparent takeover affected accounts that people could reasonably associate with official Garda information. PA reported that @GardaInfo remained linked from the official Garda website despite no longer being available under that username. Its retained Garda posts, alongside the changed identity and cryptocurrency promotions, could make it harder for visitors to recognise what had happened to the account.
PA also reported that some posts carried a warning because they were linked to another suspended account. Such warnings can result from spam, malicious behaviour or security-risk rule violations; the warning itself does not identify who controlled the Garda accounts. The Journal and PA each said An Garda Síochána had been contacted for comment. Neither report included a Garda response, and neither established how access to the accounts was obtained.
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Sources and context
- An Garda Siochána social media accounts promoting cryptocurrencies after apparent hackThe Journal
- Garda social media accounts breached by crypto-hackersRTÉ News (PA-sourced report)
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.